IlliniKrush

Spank yourself...or i'll get HSC to do it

Heather this is bulls*** i come home from class and we're trailing and Loaiza's given up 4? Do i have to go read this thread to see if you made some stupid prediction?

Don't dwell on Cubs, Sox fans E-mail this story Printer-friendly format Search archives Recent Columns -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sox feeling the vibes amid heat Sep 10, 2003 Oh, great, Cubs into magic dust Sep 5, 2003 Magic dust fails to fall on Cubs yet Sep 3, 2003 Estes hangs real loose— and himself Sep 1, 2003 Manuel didn't give Sox a fair chance Aug 31, 2003 More Headlines -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- White Sox hit sour note No patience for Paniagua's stunt Critic's corner: She's caught baseball fever Sox keep on chuggin' Bolster your Sox IQ September 11, 2003 "Forget about the Cubs!" doesn't sound like much of a rallying cry in a town that seems obsessed with anything blue and cuddly these days. But White Sox general manager Ken Williams said something very much like that the other day, and it should become the mantra of anybody who feels like a second-class citizen in the Second City. Forget about the Cubs, Sox fans. Pretend they don't exist. Don't let them intrude on your experience. Don't dwell on why the Cubs seem to be America's team and yours, on most days, seems to be 35th and Shields' team. I know this is hard for Sox fans. I know that some of what fuels your ardor for the Sox is your hatred for the Cubs. I know it's impossible to take a step in this town without tripping over Ozzy Osbourne's tongue or Sammy Sosa's on-cue smile or the ghost of Harry Caray's goggles. I know that stinks. You deserve better than that. Then again, if you went out to Comiskey Park more often and increased attendance, maybe this wouldn't be so much of an issue. But let's not dwell on what's wrong or why the Sox can't fill the ballpark or who's to blame for any of it. This isn't the time for that. It's Sept. 11, and your team now has a one-game lead over the Twins and a 31/2-game lead over the Royals in the American League Central Division. Forget what the Cubs have and what you don't have. Enjoy the wonderful story that is unfolding on the South Side. Root for your own story. Root for the perfect ending, too, though that would have to include an outbreak of bubonic plague at Wrigley Field for many of you. You might just find the ride a little more enjoyable, unencumbered as you will be by the anger you once carried around. The attention on the Cubs both locally and nationally is overwhelming, and at times so sugary it can cause cavities—and this from someone who doesn't have an emotional stake in either team. If you didn't know any better, you would think the Cubs are gourmet food and the Sox are chewing gum stuck to the bottom of a shoe on a hot day. (There is nothing I can do to convince some of you that a newspaper owned by Tribune Co. doesn't favor the Cubs, a team owned by Tribune Co. That's a discussion for another day, but the short-version answer is that it's true, we don't favor the Cubs over the Sox.) I know what you're thinking: You have something good going here and you don't understand how it can be that a franchise as historically inept as the Cubs franchise and a group of fans as wimpy as Cub fans can grab this much attention. But this is how it is and this is how it probably will be for years to come. It's also not important. Look, if the Sox keep playing good baseball, the world will come to your doorstep. Knowledgeable baseball fans already know what this team has. They know the Sox have three strong pitchers in Esteban Loaiza, Bartolo Colon and Mark Buehrle and a killer lineup of hitters. The secret you would love to share is out. I know what you're saying: You've waited a long time too. You haven't won a World Series in 86 years, but nobody seems to want to hear about that, what with the Cubs having gone 95 years without one and building an entire lovable-loser industry around it. You have passion many Cubs fans can't touch. There are fewer of you, true. Sometimes you feel like an army of one. But on Tuesday night at Comiskey, Buehrle picked off the Twins' A.J. Pierzynski at first base and afterward said it was the loudest roar he had ever heard in a ballpark. Do you know how many there were of you in the stands? There were 27,623 of you in a park that seats more than 47,000. You pack a lot of power in a small package. Enjoy your status of being fans who really care and have cared for a lot longer than many of the people still getting comfortable on the Cubs' bandwagon. You would like some recognition for what is happening here. That's understandable. Your team is going this well, you would like some general affirmation, preferably at the expense of the Cubs. Again, get over the Cubs. It was refreshing to see Williams quoted as saying the Sox should spend less time worrying about the Cubs or the relative lack of attention and more time concentrating on the task at hand: winning a division. But as part of an advertising campaign for Viagra, a replay of Kerry Robinson's walk-off home run to lead the Cardinals over the Cubs two weeks ago continues to be shown on the Comiskey JumboTron screen. And the crowd roars in approval every time. Get the Cubs off your screen, Ken. They don't exist in your world anymore. Who would you rather have been last year, the world champion Anaheim Angels or the more popular Los Angeles Dodgers? I thought so. Now repeat after me, Sox fans: Sammy who?

I'm amazing Hey i thought you left already...

I'm amazing

As long as you don't make any of your bold-but-always-wrong predictions, go for it

We should really start these gamethreads early instead of right around gametime

Ya, i saw that...pretty unique I don't know what part wouldn't plan something special for today...i only read about like 5-6 parks doing stuff, but i'd have to assume the others have something going on

Depends on which Illinois defense shows up. The one that held Brad Smith to 164 yards running & passing or the one that allowed Mike Souza 365 passing yards. Illinois' offense is consistently one of the best in the Big 10 and the nation. The backfield is loaded with true freshman Halsey who has 212 rushing yards in the first two games. Junior Morris Virgil has an average of 6.1 yds. per attempt and 1 td. FB Carey Davis might be injured, I'm not sure, but backup Jason Davis is a fine option as a runner, blocker, and receiver. QB Jon Beutjer is one of the best in the Big 10 and already becoming one of the better qbs in Illinois history. He has 47 completions in 67 attempts for a 70.1 comletion percentage. Also, he's thrown 5 tds to 1 int. The recievers are young, but they are stepping up. Freshman Kelvin Hayden and juco transfer Lonnie Hurst are the top 2 options, other than the running backs, but Mark Kornfeld has impressed me with a couple of nice catches as well. Illinois:34 UCLA:23 Go Illini! Carey Davis is out a few more weeks with staph infection in his knee. Jason and Haywood have done a pretty good job filling in Illini's offense is always good now because of Turner's pro style offense and ability to groom good qbs, and now wr's as we've seen. I believe Virgil's a soph. Also last week Pierre Thomas came in, a freshman, and was impressive. We have a boatload of rb's. BTW Hayden is the juco, Lonnie Hurst is the true freshman. I like what i've seen from Mark Kornfeld. The guy has amazing hands and has made some great catches thus far this year. Great possession, go to guy. One huge loss is losing DE O'Brien for the year. We have a few guys trying to fill in, but he's an excellent pash rusher and an experienced guy on the d line. That's gonna really hurt. If we can't fill that void the D is gonna struggle a lot at times.

Ya, we're 10 point dogs somehow, i think that's a lot but who knows If our D plays like it did this past week, we'll be out of that game real fast

Capn, what's your chances against Georgia ya think. i think you guys are like 14 pt dogs, on the road. Kind of seems like they are just setup this week to get labeled.

Don't get your hopes up, but we'll see what happens

I'm 16, I don't have $100 to burn. If you want to lower the price ($20), I'll probably do it. asshole "100 dollars to burn" meaning you know you are gonna lose If you were positive you'd win the bet, would it matter how much i wanted to make the bet worth. The higher the bet the more money you supposedly win, right? I love people like you But if you wanna go 20, i'll enjoy taking your money. And if at any time you wanna make it more, you let me know, i'm not going anywhere. Wanna come down here for the game and see your ass kicking in person?

He totally tried, and did, elbow harridge Oh, and that little weasel NW fan danfan has been silent after i said i wanted to bet him on the NW/Illini game

I found these results really shocking I despise of the Cubs mainly because of their moronic fan base. I never want to see any of those yuppies happy. And for all the people that claim Cubs fans don't care about the Sox as much as the Sox fans care about the Cubs, i think they are wrong. Cubs fans jump at any chance to rip the Sox, our fans, the ballpark, etc. It happens way more often then they like to think.

When everyone in ur pen is doing well, ur a genius When everyone in ur pen is sucking it up, ur a moron You are what your pen does. Bringing anyone in with a 6 run lead really can't be a bad decision in and of itself. Quit blaming JM sometimes, hold these damn pitchers accountable Also, a lot of you manage in hinsight, and we all know that's 20/20. To put a pitcher who hasn't faced major league hitters in a year, and was released by Detroit, and cut by Tampa in spring training, in the game, a must game, is the dumbest decision I have ever witnessed a manager make. And to leave him in long enough for 4 people to reach base against him is incomprehenisble. You haven't watched nearly enough baseball then I've been to at least 1,000 White Sox games in my lifetime. I watch almost every game that I don't attend on TV. If you have a spare 10 hours my wife will tell you all about my "obsession". JM is a dope. You don't remember any of it then. To call this the dumbest thing you've ever seen, is ridiculous Hell, i've seen much more stupid stuff out of jerry this year alone Maybe your opinion, mine, he's done stupid things, but this takes the cake. He blows this win, the whole season is in jeapordy. When are players accountable I don't give a crap who in the hell you put in with a 6 run lead, there's no way the guy should make it as close as it was. I think he left him in there too long; but that's not what anyone is arguing about Putting him in to begin with isn't a problem. You will never know what you have unless he's used. Plus, it saves ur other more valuable arms for the next two games and so on. JM has done some stupid things, but to say it's the stupidest thing you've ever seen, supposedly watching all these games u claim...i mean come on already. This is Jose Paniagua, a guy who was released by DETROIT, and cut by TAMPA in spring training. He sucked in the Mexican League, his era over 9.00, he wasn't very good at Charlotte, he has no business being in the major leagues, let alone a first place ballclub. If Minnesota were to score 6 runs, I believe the best chance they had would be against this bum. Wunsch was ready, Schoenweiss could have remained in. A game against Minnesota is not the time to see what he could do. Why didn't he use him when the Sox were up by 5 in the 9th against Cleveland? He decided to use Gordon for the 4th straight game. What arms did he save? He had to use his closer, what an idiot. Well then why is he on the roster? You could be blaming the wrong person here

When everyone in ur pen is doing well, ur a genius When everyone in ur pen is sucking it up, ur a moron You are what your pen does. Bringing anyone in with a 6 run lead really can't be a bad decision in and of itself. Quit blaming JM sometimes, hold these damn pitchers accountable Also, a lot of you manage in hinsight, and we all know that's 20/20. To put a pitcher who hasn't faced major league hitters in a year, and was released by Detroit, and cut by Tampa in spring training, in the game, a must game, is the dumbest decision I have ever witnessed a manager make. And to leave him in long enough for 4 people to reach base against him is incomprehenisble. You haven't watched nearly enough baseball then I've been to at least 1,000 White Sox games in my lifetime. I watch almost every game that I don't attend on TV. If you have a spare 10 hours my wife will tell you all about my "obsession". JM is a dope. You don't remember any of it then. To call this the dumbest thing you've ever seen, is ridiculous Hell, i've seen much more stupid stuff out of jerry this year alone Maybe your opinion, mine, he's done stupid things, but this takes the cake. He blows this win, the whole season is in jeapordy. When are players accountable I don't give a crap who in the hell you put in with a 6 run lead, there's no way the guy should make it as close as it was. I think he left him in there too long; but that's not what anyone is arguing about Putting him in to begin with isn't a problem. You will never know what you have unless he's used. Plus, it saves ur other more valuable arms for the next two games and so on. JM has done some stupid things, but to say it's the stupidest thing you've ever seen, supposedly watching all these games u claim...i mean come on already.

When everyone in ur pen is doing well, ur a genius When everyone in ur pen is sucking it up, ur a moron You are what your pen does. Bringing anyone in with a 6 run lead really can't be a bad decision in and of itself. Quit blaming JM sometimes, hold these damn pitchers accountable Also, a lot of you manage in hinsight, and we all know that's 20/20. To put a pitcher who hasn't faced major league hitters in a year, and was released by Detroit, and cut by Tampa in spring training, in the game, a must game, is the dumbest decision I have ever witnessed a manager make. And to leave him in long enough for 4 people to reach base against him is incomprehenisble. You haven't watched nearly enough baseball then I've been to at least 1,000 White Sox games in my lifetime. I watch almost every game that I don't attend on TV. If you have a spare 10 hours my wife will tell you all about my "obsession". JM is a dope. You don't remember any of it then. To call this the dumbest thing you've ever seen, is ridiculous Hell, i've seen much more stupid stuff out of jerry this year alone

When everyone in ur pen is doing well, ur a genius When everyone in ur pen is sucking it up, ur a moron You are what your pen does. Bringing anyone in with a 6 run lead really can't be a bad decision in and of itself. Quit blaming JM sometimes, hold these damn pitchers accountable Also, a lot of you manage in hinsight, and we all know that's 20/20. Jose P should have never been in the game to begin with and should have never had the chance to be held accountable. Anyone who defends JM in this scenario is blind in their view and needs to be thumped over the head with a large, heavy object. Bulls*** You gotta see what the guy has, and it's a 6 run lead You are managing in hindsight cuz if he went 1-2-3 none of this talk comes up now, does it? You can argue that he was left in too late, but other than that, should we go to Marte and Gordon if it's 6 run lead or less every damn time? Go thump yourself, tool

When everyone in ur pen is doing well, ur a genius When everyone in ur pen is sucking it up, ur a moron You are what your pen does. Bringing anyone in with a 6 run lead really can't be a bad decision in and of itself. Quit blaming JM sometimes, hold these damn pitchers accountable Also, a lot of you manage in hinsight, and we all know that's 20/20. To put a pitcher who hasn't faced major league hitters in a year, and was released by Detroit, and cut by Tampa in spring training, in the game, a must game, is the dumbest decision I have ever witnessed a manager make. And to leave him in long enough for 4 people to reach base against him is incomprehenisble. You haven't watched nearly enough baseball then

When everyone in ur pen is doing well, ur a genius When everyone in ur pen is sucking it up, ur a moron You are what your pen does. Bringing anyone in with a 6 run lead really can't be a bad decision in and of itself. Quit blaming JM sometimes, hold these damn pitchers accountable Also, a lot of you manage in hinsight, and we all know that's 20/20.

Would have stayed with schoe, but at least we found out that Jose is absolutely positively unusable in any critical situations.

MANHATTAN, Kan. -- Kansas State quarterback Ell Roberson will be out indefinitely after injuring his non-throwing hand during a victory over McNeese State. "How long that is going to be, I don't know," coach Bill Snyder said Sunday. "It just remains to be seen, and that kind of depends on his progress. There is no time or day of the week or date set about when we might get him back." However, Snyder indicated Roberson might not return until Oct. 4, when 3-0 Kansas State (No. 6 ESPN/USA Today, No. 7 AP) begins Big 12 Conference play at Texas (No. 5, No. 6). "Yes, it could be," the coach said. Roberson hurt his left hand after an incomplete pass during Saturday night's 55-14 victory. He left in the second quarter, with the Wildcats leading 31-0, and did not return. "He just got hit," Snyder said. "It may have been on a helmet. I don't know. That I couldn't decipher off the tape." Roberson completed three of six passes for 63 yards and a touchdown, also rushing for 37 yards on five carries. The Wildcats (3-0) play Division I-AA Massachusetts at home Saturday and the following week host Marshall, which lost to No. 13 Tennessee 34-24 on Saturday. They then have the next week off before traveling to Texas. Jeff Schwinn probably will start against Massachusetts. Saturday night's game was only the fifth he's played for the Wildcats, and he was 5-for-13 for 83 yards, scoring a touchdown on a 1-yard run. "I will be ready," said Schwinn, a senior. "I made some mistakes that I'll correct. I made some bad decisions, and I was a little jittery out there in the pocket for some reason. I just have to get better every day."

riiiiiiiight, that's what everyone said last year, then look what happened in the bowl games and oh yeah, who won the national championship?

Haha, your bias amazes me. Isn't that what I did? I made my guarantee and I'm willing to back it up. missouri and air force are probly pretty even teams and only the season will tell who is better, i don't think you can say i'm biased if i think mizzou is better than air force wanna put $100 down on the illinois/nw game? $200? why don't you pm me your info